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Vegas debut sets up Gill's hunt for gold

Ben Horne

At 17 years old in Las Vegas, you're all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Unless of course you're Liam Gill.

The spearhead for Australia's sevens hopes at the Commonwealth Games is adamant his debut for Australia in Sin City back in 2010 launched his career.

Now a 15-Test Wallaby, established Queensland Reds flanker and a sevens silver-medallist from Delhi, Gill is determined to go one better this weekend and claim a historic gold for his country in Glasgow.

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In outlining his passion for the sport, Gill hasn't forgotten a debut which was as Vegas as it gets.

Well at least for a starry-eyed teenager who was not legally permitted to drink or gamble.

"I was at a mate's place for an 18th birthday so the (ARU) had to get on to mum and dad to try and find me and get me to the airport on time," Gill recalls of his last-minute inclusion for the injured Nick Phipps.

"It was awesome. Flying to Vegas (on my own) was ridiculous.

"I met the team at the hotel. I saw Carlos Santana walking around ... it was all happening."

Gill went from not believing he had the skill and speed to be a sevens success to being one of the stars of the sevens program at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

However, the experience wasn't without a pain that's stayed with him for these past four years.

In the final moments of a tense final, Gill was unable to take a tough pass which could have potentially sealed gold for Australia.

The record books say New Zealand scored from the subsequent scrum to maintain their unbeaten record since sevens made its Commonwealth Games debut in 1998.

Gill can console himself knowing that a match turning on a play is sevens in a nutshell - ruthless and unpredictable.

But he says the what-ifs have played a part in motivating him to return for another tilt at Games gold.

"It did a bit ... it was one of those things. A break was made, the ball was going everywhere, there was a knock-on. A scrum. They score," he said.

"That's the nature of sevens. Those things happen and it can happen in the blink of an eye.